Added to my journal.

After its release, which spawned a sea of positive reviews and swept through the entire RPG community in stormy waves, the game couldn't fail to interest me. I played it back when it first came out in cooperative mode. It was quite fun exploring this little world—or rather, a piece of it filled with all sorts of interesting things, puzzles, and challenging battles—but naturally, we didn't dive deep into the story, didn't pay much attention to the dialogues, and didn't read the descriptions. The game was full of bugs, but they were more amusing than critical; for example, you could break down doors into people's houses in broad daylight, everyone around would scream "guards!", but no one ever came, and everyone calmed down once the door was smashed to splinters. You could also combine certain skills to create slightly unfair things, such as these:
"Comeback kid" – upon taking lethal damage, the character survives with 1hp/"Lich" – while standing in a pool of blood, the character restores health. Most physical attacks on flesh creatures cause own abundant bleeding... thus, it's practically impossible to kill the character with weapons, hee-hee-hee; now that's what I call an OP build, not like your expedition builds (which only lead to death).
Despite the fact that playing was quite wonderful, we never actually finished it. And the reason for that was... many things:
1) A bunch of idiotic, completely illogical puzzles—or if they were logical, then on the level of clues in a mafia game.
2) Poor optimization of the conditions for completing these very puzzles.
3) Towards the end, due to an imperfect character progression system and other factors related to the frailty, decay, and fading of all existence around us, interest waned.
4) When you play a game with someone, you always have to be prepared for your partner to say "I don't want to continue." That is essentially where our adventures ended.
I am not very well acquainted with the Divinity series; that is, I've known for a long time that it exists, and there were even enthusiastic conversations among genre fans about the first part. But it was very rarely encountered among the people, and it was sold in almost a four-disc box, unattainable for the average schoolkid. Divine Divinity thus bypassed me, but I was very strongly attracted to Beyond Divinity, which came out then with an official Russian localization—I think even before the original; I really wanted to play it, but on my first computer it lagged and crashed, which I attributed to the weakness of the system. Later, after a number of years, I launched it on another, updated PC rig, but it crashed just the same, saves were corrupted, and it froze hellishly. I couldn't find a solution then and put it back on the shelf again, although I liked the game very much despite its antiquity. I could try giving this capricious primadonna a chance even now, but that requires a decision after careful thought.
But some time ago, on a pleasant dark evening, when all the strolling lords and ladies had already seen fit to shut their traps and go to sleep, I thought it would be nice to play some good RPG. I remembered Original Sin, steered the sails of my schooner toward known shores, from where I brought back some "Enhanced Edition," and it turned out—contrary to current trends—to be enhanced with the very best details. Bugs decreased, puzzles lowered their degree of retardoidness, a drop of logic appeared, the skill system was updated, quests were expanded, OP builds were cut, characters were re-voiced (though in not all cases this proved for the better, do you believe in gods, baby, eh...), and overall, a lot was balanced.
That is the story of my introduction to this "cutie" that I've come to love.

The game is an isometric RPG—that's the phrase I found on the internet. If you, like me, are that same unfortunate unlearned person without a higher engineering degree, then the approximate meaning of this word for us would be "top-down view." Visually everything looks pleasant and cozy; one immediately recalls various nuclear fallouts, devils, dungeons-and-dragons. Just don't think about zooming the camera in to the maximum; you risk diving too deep into a holey, moldy tub of memories. In terms of animation, everything is also quite good—several types of attacks for characters, different for each weapon, and all external effects have a direct impact on appearance (shock, weakness, fire, frost). The weather changes depending on the location: it's raining in some places, sunny over the hill; crossing a suspension bridge can easily land you in a sandstorm, and stepping carelessly into a portal will force you to experience all the joy of an ice storm. Along with the weather, of course, the landscape changes; plants, color schemes, and general style differ across locations.
And most importantly—all these eye-pleasing things directly affect the gameplay. In the rain, everything around gets wet, fire loses its effectiveness, but the power of water and air increases. Water makes the blazing skeletons of the Inferno weak; fire, conversely, heals them. And if you cast that very rain in a winter location, those it hits will simply be covered in a crust of ice. An archer cannot shoot enemies who are behind a hill or behind the backs of other characters; spells that hit in a straight line will also encounter an obstacle. Oil spilled on the road slows things down significantly, and a spark of fire can ignite it such that black smoke rises into the air, hiding the characters standing in it. The environment, landscape, objects around—all this directly affects your success in battle or exploring caves with treasures.
This is where I will move to classes, skills, and other mechanical-technical components of our exciting journey. Since there are many factors affecting progress, the question arises: "do all characters interact with these factors equally?". Well, of course not, ha-ha-ha, that would be stupid! Not all magic is equally effective at certain stages of the game; some can even be harmful. No one but a rogue can pass in some places, and if they do, it's by applying much greater effort. Also, cutting out some key character in an enemy squad won't be so easy without a helpful pair of daggers. No one except a warrior dressed in heavy armor is capable of taking a lot of damage, providing space for other party members. Not only classes but also the skills taken open certain paths to success. Approximately 80% of skills will be used throughout the game, giving free rein to the player's tactical abilities.
Warriors hit with melee, dealing physical damage, against which everyone here has some percentage of protection, but there is never immunity. They can also knock enemies to the ground like a bowling ball hits pins; deliver a punch in a heavy iron gauntlet to the head, providing the lucky fellow a couple of minutes of peaceful oblivion; maim, making it harder to deal damage; inspire allies to feats, increasing their characteristics; heal. Very useful and good—perhaps the most flexible class in the game. I will avoid the word "rogue" and call this class Bandit, hee-hee-hee. So, bandits are fast, fragile, have all possible debuffs in their skills, are invisible, jumpy, and run across lava without harm to their health. They don't perform school-style assassinations of enemy groups with one hit, so to be able to eliminate a distant mage or archer, you'll have to make a plan. Shooters stand at a safe distance and provide support with attacks, special arrows (of which there are about twenty types here), and skills aimed mainly at inflicting damage on a single target or group. Mages specialize in elemental spells and serve as the main generator of chaos in battle, since everything around interacts with each other; spells turn carefree blooming fields into an infernal poisonous-oily nightmare in seconds. Besides damage, they specialize in control: shock, freeze, blindness, many other things—all this is present in practically every direction of magic. Enemies, as a rule, have different elemental protection stats, so mages can be either effective or useless against opponents well-protected from their specific element. There are five magical directions in total: four elements and witch magic, full of buffs, curses, and summons.
In general, there are no fixed classes as such in the game; any character can take any skills they want—the only question is which characteristics you will level up and what equipment you'll put on. From my experience playing a battlemage, I can say that combining physical and magical damage makes practically no sense. Theoretically, such a character could be more versatile if they were a loner, but not in a group of four people.
The quests here are very diverse; many of them require exploring some location, followed by clearing it of enemies and a boss, but there are also assignments that have absolutely nothing to do with military affairs. From time to time, the caring developers will offer you to play a game, the essence of which is guessing what people you don't know—who may have had a few beers—had on their minds. This is where the agony begins: levers in the floor do nothing, NPCs don't answer, barriers don't disappear, the mafia wins. All this mess is solved in the best case by frantically cycling through all items in sight, pixel-hunting, or pushing through with "pyramids," and in the worst—a visit to a search engine. I've gone through many bone-crushing incomprehensible things in my life, but some puzzles were unsolvable even for me. And in the previous version of the game, some of them were EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE, almost to the point of random items moving to random places just to open a door.
Of course, not all quests are like that; most still require logic, ingenuity, and reason from the player, which is very pleasing. If a newly arrived traveler can overcome this layer of the unknown that the game throws in their face from the first minutes, then much interesting stuff awaits them further. In principle, if you set yourself the goal to complete the game without a single hint, you can fully feel the breath of wind from old times, where instead of the internet there was only the God-Emperor, ready to listen to as many desperate prayers as you liked.

...Once sacred healing magic—Source—has long since turned into a dirty, maddening power, the use of which is persecuted and punished by death. An order of hunters for this very hated magical element is tasked with searching for it and subsequently destroying it. In the human port city of Cyseal, suffering from an influx of undead, a mystical murder occurred; all facts point to the use of twisted magic. Two members of the order are sent to investigate this crime and subsequently punish the perpetrator. The shores of Cyseal greet the heroes with smoke and blood; orcs arriving on their wide ships storm the fortifications, waging a fierce struggle against the soldiers of the Legion who were sent here for protection from the undead. Surprisingly, the orcs follow the orders of the humans accompanying them in the attack. On the way to the city, the hunters find an ancient tomb, just robbed by an unknown scarlet witch and her minions. The woman immediately demonstrates her belonging to the cursed blood, unleashing hordes of undead upon the pursuers. Having fought off the living dead, the heroes break through to the city gates, where they are met by the city's high mage-shapeshifter, who brings them up to speed. After a short rest accompanied by a mug of beer in the local tavern, the hunters head to the crime scene to assess its scale with their own eyes. A legion soldier standing guard at the ill-fated room opens the door for them, advising them to exercise utmost caution. Before the hunters' eyes is complete devastation: broken furniture, blood, and a soot-covered floor. During the investigation, under piles of debris, the heroes find a glowing stone which, with a single touch, envelops them in lightning. In the next moment, they find themselves standing on the black stone floor of a stellar temple called the End of Time...

As for what happens next, you'll find out for yourselves. The main plot spine is not too convoluted and unlikely to shake your imagination, although who knows... certainly not you, my dear sole reader. Everything that grows around this very plot is much more interesting: locations, characters, situations the heroes fall into during their journey. We are often faced with a choice—always a difficult one—leading to the most diverse consequences. But finding the right path will not work, as there simply isn't one here.

Despite the first impression when the game seemed "not bad" but far from good, I still decided to try it again and didn't regret it at all. Even more so, I got immense pleasure from completing it, ignoring the downsides in most aspects. Character development may seem boring only at first glance, but anyone who spends a small amount of time on the game will quickly realize that everything is not so simple and the absence of fixed classes does not diminish diversity in the slightest. True, towards the end, levels no longer provide a strategic advantage due to imperfections in difficulty balance. How wonderful it would be if the developers added a couple more difficulties above maximum; this game would be priceless. By the way, there is an option for "mother's brave boys," called Honour Mode; in it, after every death of any character, the game automatically resaves the only save available for this difficulty, and if you die completely, that's it—the end. But it doesn't make the game harder; it just adds a drop of risk.
The characters, environment, and the life of the world flowing in its own turn all create a wonderful atmosphere that one wants to dive into headfirst and sit there like a cat in a shoe box, protected by sturdy cardboard walls in pleasant semi-darkness. Item descriptions, NPC phrases and emotions, printed materials—all this is very good here, soulful, intoxicating in its attraction. It might be problematic to explain; for example... Upon reaching the church, I just walked around for some time reading inscriptions on tombstones, listening to the mesmerizing voice explaining who lies under this cozy layer of earth and why. The only thing I didn't like much were some jokes that, in my opinion, cross a certain line between "game/reality"; I don't like that, even if it is funny. In general, the developers piled on all sorts of little laughs from the heart, for every taste, color, and size.
Regarding the divine pranks practiced by the surrounding world, the developers also did a stellar job. Even in something like Dark Souls, famous for its well-known "You died" inscription, you won't encounter as many mocking moments as they stuffed in here. You can dig up a grave and die from an explosion of explosives planted in it, examine a chest and blow yourself up on a mine, stumble into a trap, or say something that some character doesn't like. But for the most part, of course, you will be dying because of your own mistakes.
It turned out to be an excellent game; it will appeal to lovers of those dear-to-the-heart ancient RPGs that require actions and decisions from the player, rather than a smile on a carefree face content with its walk on a summer day through fantasy fields with unicorns. I'm waiting for the full release of the second part, I'll definitely check out other games in the series, maybe even tackle my long-time failed love Beyond Divinity. But no matter how much I praise this wonderful creation, negative sides still exist; some I described, others I didn't bother to mention. Perhaps someone will find all this not so wonderful, or even overrated, not worth a tenth of my panegyrics. In any case, if you love RPGs, try it yourself; most likely you won't regret it, and maybe you'll be touched just as I was. Just start on Tactician mode, otherwise you won't feel the full multifacetedness of the masterpiece. Well, and if you don't love them... then have you completely lost your mind? We'll catch you behind the garages and force you to cosplay an anime magic fairy until you learn ten Horadric Cube recipes.